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Stacey Bradley Memorial Tournament turns 10

By Matt Stewart, Correspondent

Updated:
07/21/2013 06:51:56 AM EDT

Pepperell's Colby Gouldrup, 9, competes in the Stacey Bradley Memorial Tournament All-Star Home Run Derby at McNally Field in Lunenburg, Saturday. Gouldrup went on to win the event.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD

LUNENBURG -- Event organizers found the perfect tribute to pay homage to the life of Stacey Bradley, by creating a baseball tournament to inspire local youngsters to develop a passion for baseball.

Ten years later that inaugural class of 7- and 8-year-olds is getting ready for college, and the Stacey Bradley Memorial Tournament is growing stronger by the day. The tournament held its second annual Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, a recent addition to the decade-long tournament, Saturday at McNally Field.

"It seems like yesterday when we started," said Bryan Bradley, who founded the tournament in honor Stacey, his wife. "It's been 10 great years, and we've watched the tournament grow from its infancy of three or four teams to double-digit teams.

It's great to see so many kids in the area playing baseball and seeing something so good come out of something so horrible."

Stacey Bradley was a Lunenburg resident who died on Sept. 2, 2002, in a tragic car accident. Bryan and Stacey's son, Jake, played in a 7- and 8-year-old tournament prior to the accident, and Bryan and fellow organizers felt that providing a local tournament for this age group would not only serve the young athletes, but would be a fitting way to remember the legacy Stacey left.

"The whole idea came about because there was nothing for kids of this age group around here to play ball," Bradley said. "(Jake's) team had to travel down to Hopkinton because that was the closest place to play.

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The 2013 edition features 10 teams from North Central Massachusetts, ranging from Leominster, Lunenburg and Ashburnham-Westminster, to as far east as Tyngsboro. Each team plays a nine-game regular season, followed by a single-elimination championship tournament. The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game mark the midpoint of the tournament, with each team sending two representatives to the Derby and three players to the All-Star Game.

"We try to create events that are going to hook these kids on baseball," Bradley said.

"It's all about the kids, and getting them to love the sport. The all-star and Home Run Derby give kids the chance to be the Major League Baseball players for the day. It's just great to see the smiles on their faces when they are doing this stuff."

Each team pays an entry fee, and generous sponsors help provide the rest of the funding for the tournament.

Around 20 area businesses help sponsor the event, and that assistance goes towards running the tournament and providing a slew of noteworthy hardware for the athletes. Every athlete competing in the Derby and All-Star Game receives a trophy, while the All-Star athletes also get special Bradley Tournament hats. Every student competing in the championship tournament also receives a participation trophy and tournament T-shirt.

"Without our sponsors and the community pulling behind us, we'd have never been able to pull this off," Bradley said. "It's such a great event for the kids, and creates a lifetime of memories."

Although the majority of the money goes directly to the kids participating in the tournament, any excess funds are donated to high school baseball players in the form of the Stacey Bradley Memorial Baseball Scholarship. Three Lunenburg High students received the scholarship, all of whom had participated in the tournament years ago.

"It's nice to see it come to fruition for the kids who were 8, that are now 18," Bradley said. "We have kids who participated that are playing Legion ball now in Leominster, and make up all the local high school rosters. We recognize the names of the kids who were playing down here when they were 7 and 8."

Bradley also stressed the importance of the volunteer staff, which runs the concession stand and helps run the tournament. One such volunteer, Shannon Passarelli of Lunenburg, spends every night of the tournament helping out in the concession stand. She is at the field Monday through Thursday and Saturdays during the tournament.

"Watching the kids get better from the beginning to end is why I volunteer," Passarelli said. "In the beginning they are really struggling, but in the end they are hitting it close to the gate. It's great to watch them improve and see how much they love to play. Seeing the kids have fun and improve, what greater reason to volunteer is that?"

The age group marks a pivotal year in young players' development, as they transition from the instructional level of the sport to the competitive minor league ranks. They also face pitching from their peers for the first time.

The drastic improvement of the athletes is something many parents recognize, as well. Steve Richard, a volunteer coach of Leominster National, has seen his athletes improve in leaps and bounds, and all three of his children participated in the tournament during the past four years.

"It's a great way for kids who really want to play baseball to get the opportunity to play with other kids who want to play," Richard said. "The improvement at this level is greater than any other league. In 10 games they are able to make double plays and strike people out, it's amazing."

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